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Town Crier columnist stars in NBC series: O’Farrell, a natural pontificator, plays a politician

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Conor O’Farrell as Ray Carroll, lieutenant governor of Texas and former warden, in “Game of Silence.” Photo courtesy NBC
Conor O’Farrell as Ray Carroll, lieutenant governor of Texas and former warden, in “Game of Silence.”
Photo courtesy NBC

Conor O’Farrell, the Town Crier’s award-winning columnist, also is an actor. Currently, he is a regular on the new series “Game of Silence” Thursdays on NBC.

While it is not his first television series, he said, “It is the first time I’ve been a series regular. That’s a different thing for me.”

Most of the filming was done during the fall in Atlanta, but O’Farrell took some comforts and had family to keep him company. His daughter, Georgia, now lives near Atlanta and he spent many days visiting her. An avid kayaker, he also took his equipment east and spent other off-days testing the East Coast whitewater rivers.

The “Game of Silence” premier show, which aired Tuesday, April 12, scored very good ratings, according to O’Farrell. The industry magazine “Deadline” described the Tuesday performance as “solid,” winning its slot that night.

“It was a great party and the numbers were very good,” he said after the premier.

O’Farrell’s talent as a writer and experience as an actor may benefit the show. As the final episode was being filmed, he offered some suggestions about the direction his character might go.

“I like that, it’s really good,” was the response from the show’s creative team, he said.

O’Farrell had stressed that one of his pleasures working on this show was the stronger emphasis on characters. While it’s still a network series with an over-arcing plot, which is revealed in weekly episodes, the writers cared for and focused on the characters more than many network series.

“At my age, I like to be in a really creative show with good story telling,” O’Farrell said, examining his career. “It’s not the money, but being stimulated by a well-told story.”

Nevertheless, his age did affect his contribution to the show’s buzz. The network and producers organized a premier party during the East Coast broadcast. Cast members were asked to use social media.

“They want live tweeting for the East Coast,” he said days before the premier aired. “I’m not adept with social media.”

During the showing, Georgia emailed him and asked why he stopped sending tweets. He was puzzled until he learned that Twitter had blocked further tweets. He promises to develop that skill now that he has his first iPhone.

It’s as if O’Farrell embodies Yogi Berra’s statement, “I tell the kids, somebody’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose. Just don’t fight about it. Just try to get better.” Practice and more practice, keep playing the game. Whether its acting or writing, O’Farrell has demonstrated that his performance does get better.

O’Farrell’s acting career has spanned several decades. While never the classic heart-throb star, he has appeared in many films and television shows. For example, he was a mainstay in HBO’s “From the Earth to the Moon” and ABC’s “CSI: Crime Scene Investigator.”

Early, he learned that acting was showing up at auditions. But he had to overcome the fear of rejection. He confronted his own thoughts that tried to talk him out of going to the next audition.

“Acting is all about your state of mind,” he stressed. Overcoming that anxiety took time and effort, which many actors can’t endure.

Eventually he learned, “Playing a doctor isn’t about what you know about medicine, it’s selling the people in the room that you are a doctor.”

As Woody Allen has said, “Eighty percent of success is just showing up.” O’Farrell realized the value of persistence and consistency, which has led him to a successful and full-time acting career.

But his career as a columnist only began a few years ago. Similar to his acting, the more he does it, the better he becomes. Last spring, he received a second-place award for local columnist from the California Newspaper Publishers Association. This is a statewide competition. Later in the summer, the National Newspaper Association bestowed a a third-place award on him. Again this spring, O’Farrell has earned either a first- or second-place CNPA columnist honor.

“These articles and recognition are much more meaningful,” he stated. “The key is putting myself out there. They are my views of the world. It’s validating and much more personal.

“Without a formal education, I always thought that everybody else was smarter than I was,” he added.

O’Farrell can be seen Thursdays at 10 p.m. in “Game of Silence” on NBC and his column, “Off the Leash,” can be read in the third issue of each month in the Idyllwild Town Crier.

Conor O’Farrell (left), as Warden Roy Carroll, speaks to Linds Edwards (right), as Red, during Episode 2, “Blood Brothers,” of “Game of Silence.” Photo by Richard DuCree/NBC
Conor O’Farrell (left), as Warden Roy Carroll, speaks to Linds Edwards (right), as Red, during Episode 2, “Blood Brothers,” of “Game of Silence.”
Photo by Richard DuCree/NBC

Art Fair has new name and venue

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Scott and Kim Finnell’s Idyllwild 2nd Saturday Art Fair has a new name and venue for its third season. The new name, reflective of the fact that it is held on multiple days on holiday weekends, is Idyllwild Art in the Park. The new location, rented from the Johnson family, is David Roy’s former carving site on Highway 243, across from the Idyllwild Community Center site.

And unlike previous years, the events will not be limited to one day a month for its six-month run. Reached by phone in Mississippi, Kim said the first event is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 7, with additional dates on Memorial Day weekend (May 28 and 29), June 18, Fourth of July weekend (July 2 and 3), Aug. 6, Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3 and 4), and concluding on Saturday, Oct. 1

“Because of the configuration of the new site, we’ll be setting up as more of a village-center theme,” said Kim. “The lot lends itself to that. We’re excited that one of our artists, Rob Padilla, will be hosting a ‘Create a Mural’ participatory art event within the overall event. We’ll have paint and brushes and are excited to see how it unfolds. We’ll also have live music at each event.”

Kim stressed, “This is still a juried show,” meaning that participants are screened prior to acceptance. “We’ll have new artists and returning favorites but we will be limiting the number of participants,” she said. “Our goal with these events is to bring more visitors to Idyllwild.”

PCT Warrior Hikers to be hosted at American Legion

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For the third year, U.S. military veterans return to Idyllwild as thru-hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail. They are part of “Warrior Hike: Walk Off the War,” a program of outdoor wilderness exercise therapy designed to help veterans transition from front-line military service to civilian life.

Former Marine Corps Capt. Sean Gobin realized the potential benefit to other veterans after he hiked the 2,185-mile Appalachian Trail in 2012, immediately after returning from three combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gobin had several goals in establishing the program that now runs on the three National Scenic Trails —  the Pacific Crest, Appalachian and Continental Divide — as well as a number of other regional trails. Gobin’s first goal was to give veterans the tranquility and time to reboot and revive after stressful military front-line service. Second was to raise money to finance purchases of adaptive vehicles for injured vets; and third, and now the primary goal, was to acquaint residents in towns along the trails with the many difficulties returning vets have in adapting to civilian life after returning from war zones.

Gobin described how veterans could be on the front lines one day and on air transports back to the states a day or two later. As Gobin personally understood, that rapid transition was far too difficult, especially for vets suffering from post-traumatic stress and other mental conditions brought on by front-line deployment.

On Saturday, April 23, the American Legion Post 800 hosts an event to meet the five 2016 PCT Warrior Hikers, to hear their stories and to support their journeys. The post will honor them with a reception at 4 p.m. and a brats, sauerkraut and salad dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. Dessert donations are welcome. The event is open to the public.

This year’s hikers are:

• Army vet Joseph Jamison of Pueblo, Colorado. Jamison served as a field artillery surveyor in Iraq and Afghanistan from 1990 to 2015.

• U.S. Navy Parachute Rigger Daniel Jones of Marshalltown, Iowa, who served from 1985 to 1992 with deployments in Saudi Arabia.

• Ruben Munoz, U.S. Navy field medical service technician of Miami, Florida, active service from 1991 to 2012 with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• U.S. Army Special Forces Communications Sgt. Jimmy Sellers of Killeen, Texas, who served from 1987 to 2014 with tours in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

• U.S. Navy Fire Control Technician Albert Woolum of Richland Hills, Texas, who served from 1971 through 1975 with deployment in Vietnam.

The Warrior Hikers will share their stories both of their hike and their military service. As part of their mission, they’ll also pitch the importance of funding veteran care, especially for those suffering from PTSD and other conditions that have led to spikes in suicides among returning vets.

“I realized this could be an alternative therapy — that hiking and being outside in wilderness areas could provide a permanent coping mechanism,” said Gobin. “It’s not a cure but a reset button and one that is free and that vets can continue to use.”

For information about how Idyllwild residents can support the mission of the Warrior Hikers, visit www.warriorhike.com. Locals who want to provide transportation from trailhead to the Legion can contact Post 800’s Dave Fraser at 951-659-3165 or Post 800 at 951-659-3517.

Earthquake south of Mountain Center

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In the early morning of April 20, an earthquake, magnitude 2.9, occurred about 2 to 3 miles west of Little Thomas Mountain and the same distance south of Baldy Mountain.

The quake was at about 4:40 PDT. During the next 12 minutes, another four minor quakes were recorded. Their magnitudes ranged from .3 to 1.7. About an hour later, a .5 shake was recorded about 10 miles southeast of the original in the Santa Rosa Mountains area.

The initial report, minutes after the quake occurred, measured the tremblor at magnitude 3.3, but the current U.S. Geologoical Survey data indicates it was 2.9 magnitude.

Introducing the new CSA 36 Advisory Council members

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Wendy Read, new County Service Area 36 Advisory Council appointee, is seen here in one of her many volunteer activities, mentoring Junior Garden Club members at Idyllwild School. Read and her mother, Antje Banks, started the Idyllwild School Junior Garden Club. Photo by Marshall Smith
Wendy Read, new County Service Area 36 Advisory Council appointee, is seen here in one of her many volunteer activities, mentoring Junior Garden Club members at Idyllwild School. Read and her mother, Antje Banks, started the Idyllwild School Junior Garden Club. Photo by Marshall Smith

Editor’s note: Each week we will introduce one of the five new appointees to the County Service Area 36 Advisory Council, appointed by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to oversee recreation and tree lighting activities within the district. This week we profile Wendy Read.

Wendy Read, tapped to serve on the CSA 36 Advisory Council, knows the community, knows sports and knows how volunteering serves the greater good. She was the Town Crier’s Volunteer of the Year last year, 2015.

An Idyllwild resident for more than 25 years, Read has raised her children as participants in community sports and has volunteered in areas that support youth and recreation. She has been a member of the board of the Idyllwild School PTA from 1998 to now, three times as president and four as treasurer; served as a coach of youth soccer from 1998 to 2013; served as Hemet/San Jacinto American Youth Soccer Association Idyllwild director from 1999 to 2013; and been a member of the Idyllwild Garden Club, in charge of the Idyllwild School Junior Garden Club, from 2004 to now.

She also served on the Idyllwild School’s Site Council from 2002 through 2004, and was an active participant in seeing that the gymnasium and top-field projects were carried through to successful completion.

Read, whose work background is in office management, has a fondness for numbers and order. In organizing youth soccer, she emphasized the need for rules — for the young players to understand and play by the rules of the game. She brings an affable meticulousness to whatever task she takes on.

She volunteers in the classroom at Idyllwild School, something she has done since her first child started school there in 1998. On the Monday of her interview for this article, she cheerily made the transition from classroom to dirt and paint, working in one of the many student gardens she and her mother, Antje Banks, have helped create with and for the school Junior Garden Club.

What is notable about Read is that she continues to serve programs she has organized and on boards she has joined. Once involved, she stays committed.

She and her mother created and continue to manage the Victorian Tea that has become the signature event of the annual Idyllwild Lilac Festival in April. She worked with Town Hall recreation to start the soccer program and will continue to review recreation programs as a CSA 36 council member.

She was the only female “captain” during the Idyllwild Playground build in 2012 and now serves as a member of the Idyllwild Community Center Board, currently as treasurer. She has remained on the Idyllwild School PTA board and served as a classroom aide throughout the tenure of all of her children — 18 years.

When asked why, with all her volunteer activities, she sought a seat on the CSA Advisory Council, she said, “I wanted to see that Town Hall recreation would be locally managed.” Read noted that over the last few years, especially under management of the county’s Parks and Open Space District, programs were not handled well. “They kept bringing people up here that didn’t know or didn’t care,” she said. “For the last year, the front door of Town Hall has not worked.”

And slip-shod management does not work for Read. “If it was up to me, I would keep going until the job was done,” she said. And that statement sums up how Read views responsibility and the kind of overview she will bring to service on the CSA Council.

Sheriff’s department to test drones for search and rescue

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Riverside County plans to test the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, to enhance its search-and-rescue operations, particularly in the San Jacinto Mountain areas.

“We’re constantly monitoring new technology that’s more effective and will improve our operations,” said Chief Deputy Kevin Vest of the Sheriff’s Department.

Having seen the success of this technology during fires in Northern California and flooding incidents in Colorado, Vest said the county is working with Sentera LLC of Minnesota to test its UAV for one year. The evaluation period will likely start in late May or early June after substantial training of personnel.

He stressed this equipment will be used only for search-and-rescue missions. There is not intent for an aerial observer. The fixed-wing technology is much less compliant with “spy in the sky” purposes.

The drones will enable the search process to begin earlier, particularly when the sheriff’s aircraft might be on another mission. But he stressed it does not obviate the need for the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit.

The lost or injured hiker will still need to be found and physically extricated from the site.

One aspect of the year-long evaluation will be whether the drones are more cost effective than helicopters. “[Helicopters] are pricey to operate on an hourly basis,” Vest noted.

Drones are small enough, about the size of a desk, Vest said, that they can be transported in vehicles and will not have to be stationed at Hemet-Ryan Airbase.

The UAVs will have cameras and heat sensors. The photographs can be transmitted to the ground for review and the sensors may detect body heat, particularly during winter searches.

“They could identify a person under a bush,” Vest said.

Seeking Emax award nominees

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For the sixth consecutive year, the Idyllwild Town Crier is requesting nominations for the annual Ernie Maxwel Community Spirit Award. Bring your nomination to the Town Crier office at 54405 N. Circle Dr., mail it to P.O. Box 157, Idyllwild, CA 92549, or send by email to [email protected] by May 13.

The honor is given to an individual or group who represents EMax’s spirit of community and volunteerism. Prior awardees took actions that created a spark sufficient to bring others into the fray just as Maxwell did with his activities involving the environment.

The nomination information shoud provide the reason why the individual or group has been nominated. They should have demonstrated a tangible, perhaps physical, effect on the community. The Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail is an example of accomplishment.

How long has your nominee been active in the community?

Provide a description of their vounteer contributions and accomplishments for the community.

And finally, can you show how these efforts have been adopted or expanded by the community?

The five previous awardees were the Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council in 2011, Dawn Sonnier in 2012, Robert Priefer in 2013, Annamarie Padula in 2014 and Wendy Read in 2015. A plaque in the Town Crier office lists the awardees’ names.

Later, you will have an opportunity to vote for the top three 2016 nominees.

Sheriff’s Department still investigating body found near Hwy. 74

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The Sheriff’s Department is still investigating the death of an unknown female. The body, which was badly decomposed, was found Sunday, April 10.

Today, April 18, Lt. Dan Florez, of the Sheriff’s Hemet Station, said, “Investigations is conducting a broader search of the crime scene area for any other evidence related to the body located in the area.”

The incident remains a death investigation. The Department’s Media Bureau said last week, “Our department is investigating this death and at this time it is unclear how the person died.”

As of Monday April 18, the victim has not been positively identified and the cause of death is pending.

This is an active and ongoing investigation, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Anyone with possible information should call Investigator Joshua Button at 760-393-3531.

CHP “Start Smart” program

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California has the second highest fatality rate nationwide involving drivers between the ages of 15-18.  To help combat this growing problem, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is conducting a free Start Smart traffic education class for local teen drivers and their parents.  This a program specifically geared toward reducing collisions and injuries involving teen drivers.  This innovative program is called “Start Smart - Driving Smart to Stay Safe”.   Teen drivers must bring at least one parent or guardian to the class as the information is designed for both the young driver and their parents.   The presentation is approximately 1.5 hours in length.  Course completion certificates will be issued at the end of the class which some automobile insurance companies require for teen driver education discounts.  Local media is encouraged to attend as well.  Reservations are requested, but not required.

 

WHO:             Teen drivers age 15 to 18 and their parents

           

WHEN:           April 19, 2016 at 6 PM (Tuesday)

 

WHERE:         CHP – San Gorgonio Pass Area office

195 Highland Springs Avenue

Beaumont, CA 92223

 

WHY:              To prevent injuries and save the lives of teen drivers.

 

COST:             This program is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety and is offered at no cost to the participants

 

 

Obituary: Eutiquio Ramirez 1967-2016

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obit-ramirez2

Born in San Jerónimo Progreso, Oaxaca, Mexico on Dec. 7, 1967, Eutiquio Ramirez passed away Friday, April 8, 2016.obit-ramirez

A beloved husband, father and friend, Eutiquio was well known in Idyllwild in the construction industry for 35 years, as well as the community.

He was a well-respected and honest, hard-working man.

He is survived by his wife, Norma; daughters Estela, Maritz, Yaelin and Jaidi; son-in-law Hector and Adan; and grandchildren Naidelyn, Iker and Ethan.

He is greatly missed by family, friends and the  community of Idyllwild.

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